Another great season. Iveley Park's early season cheer ends in relegation - sad to see. Incredible D1 table with a team one point from the title ending in the bottom half, and also the team who loses the least amount of games finishes one point above the drop zone!

Firstly, apologies for the typing error, which I didn't spot. Eastroke's record was actually 3-9-6, which, of course, was still worth 15 pts.

Can't honestly work out whether this will be remembered as a memorable season, or a crazy one, in Division One. Several teams are expected to be very different next season, some for financial reasons, but others will be making an attempt to show their authority against the perceived smaller clubs.

Whilst mentioning the so-called smaller clubs, it's worth noting that the league's original smallest, and poorest, club were Brimpton Rovers. They've never been spectacular, but, this season at least, have played to a formation which has proved to be more consistent than any other. It was a fairly straightforward 5-2-3, with both full backs playing as wing backs, and no obvious 'target man' up front, but three forwards who ran from deep, with two of them chasing everything. They may well add to their squad for next season, but it's anticipated that almost all this current side will get 'first go' towards defending their title.

That's correct, Highwood Athletic will play in Division One next season. I should have made it more clear from the tables.

It's certainly been the season for the small clubs, in both divisions. Each of them found a playing formation which started to work well, and they stuck with it.

Neither of the promoted clubs is expected to go out and break the bank, or the spirit of their team, once the transfer window officially opens, which will be after the Cup Final report is published, hopefully tomorrow. There will, however, almost certainly be at least a couple of new faces at Highwood next season, but it is expected that they will turn out to be good team players who will continue to be successful at their level of the game, and certainly not top earners whom this small club simply can't afford.

So the stage was set for the final match of the season. would Eastroke United keep the Cup for another year, or could Greyston Town win a first ever trophy?

The game started slowly. Hardly surprising, with Eastroke employing their modified tactics, which have produced three consecutive clean sheets prior to this, while Greyston, also conscious of their defensive record this season, didn't want to go behind early on. Consequently, the game had entered its second quarter before there was a shot, which came from Sheedy. Unfortunately for him, he tripped just as he reached Lukaku's return pass, and the weak shot was cleared by a defender.

Later in the half,Temple had shot which went only just wide, and Lukaku was denied by an excellent block from Newman, who had a fine match. At the other end, both McAuley and Mariner had similar attempts, but they, also, couldn't find the target. The first half, therefore, ended goalless, with neither goalkeeper required to make a save.

Play was more open after the interval. Greyston nearly had the first scoring opportunity, but Hourihane's through pass rolled beyond his forwards and was gathered by West. That seemed to trigger Eastroke into action, and Patterson did very well to stop Lukaku in his tracks as he bore down purposefully towards goal, and a cross from Nevin was met by Temple, whose shot was deflected for a corner. From this, Nevin's cross went beyond the players in the goalmouth, and was met by Sheedy, unmarked, coming in from deep, to slot the ball home and put Eastroke ahead.

Soon after, Nevin had an opportunity to double the lead when he ran onto Lukaku's short pass before shooting wide from a difficult angle. In reply, Latcham's pass sent McAuley clear, but as he got near the goal, Fellaini and Lyons, between them, dispossessed him and cleared.

For the next half hour or so, Greyston were in the ascendency, but Eastroke's defence, now more solid since their wing halves have been given
man-marking responsibilities, prevented much getting through to West, apart from crosses and overhit passes.

Just as it began to look as though one goal would settle the match, and the destination of the Cup, Greyston finally got the equaliser they deserved. Hourihane played a square pass in midfield out to Latcham, whose through pass split open the defence and rolled perfectly for Rafferty, who made no mistake with his first time shot, even though he was running in from a wide angle.

In the few remaining minutes of normal time, Eastroke twice nearly grabbed a winner. First when Ball, running in from deep to connect with Lukaku's flick, just failed to get his shot on target, and then when Nevin's centre appeared to be finding Lukaku, in front of goal, only for Newman to be able to deflect the ball away from the Eastroke number nine.

So extra time was required, and the game continued in the same manner as in the closing minutes of normal time. There was a half chance at each end, which neither Latcham nor Lukaku could quite take full advantage of. Then came what turned out to be the decisive moment, As the ball arrived in the Eastroke penalty area, Lyons got to it first and cleared, but was penalised for barging Mariner aside in the process. Greyston captain John Newman took the spot-kick, which he converted. Not only would it take the Cup to Greyston, but it was also a final "kick in the teeth" for Lyons, in what, for him, has been a nightmare season.

It wasn't the end of the action, however, as the second period of extra time had goalmouth incidents ant both ends, as Eastroke increasingly threw more players forward. A shot from Nevin went only just wide, and a final goalbound shot from Temple was deflected away from its intended target by Newman, who else in this game? At the other end, West made two saves, from McAuley and Mariner, which kept the game alive until the very end.

Much of the game had been fairly ordinary, but it certainly built up to provide an exciting and tense finish to the season.